Gate latch



A. B. KUSIEK Nov. 13, 1956 GATE LATCH 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 28, 1954 4/8,? 8. Kus/e/r A. B. KUSIEK GATE LATCH 2 SheetsShee Filed Oct. 28, 1954 R m. K N Z%% 8 N U! K 3 X e m w Y B United StatesPatent O GATE LATCH Alex B. Knsiek, Nowlin, S. Dak. Application October 28, 1954, Serial No. 465,343 Claims. (Cl. 292246) member adapted to engage a portion of the gate or closure. of the fence. Suitable springs are mounted between the furcations of the fork lever for holding the. dog in posi tion and for yieldingly urging the lever to a raised position.

Still further objects and features of this invention reside in the provision of a gatel atch that is simple in construction, easy to attach to any of the various types of fences, highly eflicient in operation, and relatively inexpensive to produce thereby permitting wide distribution and utilization.

These, together with the various ancillary objects and features of the invention which will become apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by this gate latch, a preferred embodiment of which has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings, by way of ex ample only, wherein:

Figure l is a side elevational view of the gate latch comprising the present invention shown in a closed posi tion;

Figure 2 is an elevational view similar to that of Figure l but showing the gate latch in an open position;

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional detail view of the gate latch shown in a closed position;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view as taken along the plane of line 33 of Figure 1 illustrating in particulet the construction of the springs which are mounted on the shaft which provides the rotary mounting for the dog;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the component elements of the gate latch; and

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the means provided for adjusting the loo With continuing referenece to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views, reference numeral 10 generally designates any suitable fence which may be constructed out of conventional elements and which may be provided with a corner post as at 12 to which wire as at 14 may be suitably attached. A closure for the fence may be provided by providing a gate post 16 which is not secured in the ground and to which other strands of wire as at 18 are secured. The gate latch comprising the present invention and generally designated by reference numeral 20 is adapted to be utilized in conjunction with a loop 22 appended to the lower portion of the corner post 12 so as to hold the gate post 16 and hence the gate in a closed position.

The gate latch 20 includes a fork lever 21 having a handle 24 and a pair of furcations 26 and 28 terminating in cam surfaces 30 and 32 at the ends thereof. A pair of downwardly extending preferably triangular-shaped stops 34 and 36 form part of the furcations 26 and 28' and are adapted to engage a mounting plate 30 attachable by means of a screw fastener40 or the like to the corner post 12. The cam surfaces 30 and 32 are adapted to bear against the mounting plate 38.

Attached to and extending outwardly from the mounting plate 38 is a semicylindrical projection 42 having a wedge shaped notch 44 therein and carrying a sleeve 46 into which a square headed bolt 48 is adapted to be inserted. The square head 50 of the bolt 48 is adapted to seat within the square aperture 52 in the furcation 26 and the bolt 48 which extends through. an aperture in the furcation 28 aligned with the furcation 50 is held in position by means of a nut 54. In this manner the fork lever 22 is pivotally attached to the mounting plate 38 with the cam surfaces 30 and 32 engaging the plate 38.

A shaft 56 is secured to and extends between the furcations 26 and 28 and provide s a rotary mounting for the dog 58 of the configuration, as can be best seen in Figures 3 and 4. This dog includes a handle portion 60 and an end portion 62 engageable within the notch 44. A coil spring 64 is concentrically positioned about the shaft 56 and has one end 66 thereof secured to the dog 58 while the other end 68 thereof is secured to the furcation 26 of the fork lever 22. This spring 64 will, of course, be

stressed upon rotation of the fork lever 22 relative to the dog 28 in a manner as will be henceforth explained.

A further spring 70 has an end thereof secured in an opening 72 of the plate 38 and has the other end as at 74 engaging the furcation 28 of the fork lever 22. This spring will tend to continuously urge the fork lever 22 to a raised position.

A pair of spaces 76 and 78 extend between the furcations 26 and 28 and secured to the fastener 80 holding the spaces 76 in position are the ends of a flexible loop member 82 which is adjustably held by means of a clamp 84 about the fastener 80. The clamp 84,. as can be best seen in Figure 6 includes a threaded fastener 86 which engages the flexible loop member 82 between itself and a substantially U-shaped clamp member 8 8 will thereby permit longitudinal adjustment of the loop member 82.

The operation of this gate latch is quite simple. With the gate in an open position, the lower portion of the gate post 16 can be readily inserted in the loop 21 from the position as is shown in Figure 2. Then, with the fork lever 22 in a raised postion, the loop member 82 can be easily positioned over the top portion of the gate post 16 and then the fork lever 22 can be depressed drawing the gate post inwardly to the position as is shown in Figure 1. Upon the downward movement of the fork lever 22, the dog 58 will be rotated relative to the fork lever 22 thus stressing the spring 64. Since it is impossible for the dog 58 to become disengaged due to the locking action of the wedge shaped notch 44, unless the handle 60 of the dog is depressed, the dog will maintain the fork lever 22 in a lower position with the spring 56 under stress. As soon as the handle 60 of the dog 58 is depressed, releasing the dog 58, the spring 56 will cause the fork lever 22 to be raised.

It is to be recognized that suitable additional fasteners as are indicated at 90 can be utilized to hold the plate 38 to the corner post 12 as may be desired.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit: the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be 'resortedto, falling Withinthe scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

-'1. A. gate latch comprising'a mountingjplate, "a semicylindri'cal projection attached to said mounting plate, a forklever including a'bifurcated end with'the furcations thereof terminating in cam surfaces engaging and bearing against said mounting plate, said furcations having stops appended thereto for limiting rotation of said fork lever, a notch in said cylindrical projection, means rotata'bly mounting said fork lever on said cylindrical projection, a dog carried'bysaid fork lever engageable in said notch, and a loop attached to said fork lever.

2. A gate latch comprising a mounting plate, a semicylindrical projection attached to said mounting plate, a fork lever including a bifurcated end with the furcations thereof terminating in'cam surfaces engaging and bear ing against said mounting plate, said furcations having stops appended thereto for limiting rotation of said fork lever, a notch in said cylindrical'projection, means rotatably mounting said fork lever on said cylindrical projection, a dog carried by said fork lever engageable in said notch, and a loop attached to said fork lever, said loop being adjustable, said dog being selectively pivotally disengageable from engagement in said notch.

3. A gate latch comprising a mounting plate, a semicylindrical projection attached to said mounting plate, a fork lever including a bifurcated end with the furcations thereof terminating in cam surfaces engaging and bearing against said mounting plate, said furcations having stops appended thereto for limiting rotation of said fork lever, a notch in said cylindrical projection, means rotatably mounting said fork lever on said cylindrical projection, a dog carried by said fork lever engageable in said notch, and a loop attached to said fork lever, a shaft extending between said furcations, said dog being rotatably mounted on said shaft, and a spring about said shaft terminably secured to said fork lever and said dog for resiliently holding said dog in engagement in said notch.

4. A gate latch comprising a mounting plate, a semicylindrical projection attached to said mounting plate, a

, extending between said furcations, said dog being rotatably mounted on said shaft, and a spring about said shaft 'terminably secured to said fork lever and said dog for resiliently holding said dog in engagement in said notch.

5. A gate latch comprising a mounting plate, a semicylindrical projection attached to said mounting plate, a fork lever including a bifurcated end with the furcations thereof terminating in cam surfaces engaging and bearing againstsaid mounting plate, said furcations having stops appended thereto for limiting rotation of said fork lever, a notch in said cylindrical projection, means rotatably mounting said fork lever on said cylindrical projection, a dog carried by said fork lever engageable in said notch, and a loop attached to said fork lever, a shaft extending between said furcations, said dog being rotatably mounted on said shaft, and a spring about said shaft terminably secured to said fork lever and said dog for resiliently holding said dog in engagement in said notch, and another spring about said shaft terminally secured to said fork lever and said mounting plate for urging said fork lever into a raised disengaged position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 762,481 A Klipping June 14, 1904 884,269 Faverty et a1 Apr. 7, 1908 1,491,029 Carter Apr. 22, 1924 FOREIGN PATENTS 22,882 Great Britain Nov. 24, 1904 of 1-904 

